<p class="poetry">to whom I appointed the steppe for its home,p> <p class="poetry">the salt wastes as its dwelling place?p>

<t /><p class="poetry">Let the desert and dry region be happy;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">let the wilderness<n id="2" /> rejoice and bloom like a lily!p>

<p class="poetry">Then they will say, &#8216;Under these conditions I can enjoy sweet sleepp> <p class="poetry">when I wake up and look around.&#8217;&#8221;<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">Like<n id="1" /> wild donkeys in the desertp> <p class="poetry">they<n id="2" /> go out to their labor,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">seeking diligently for food;p> <p class="poetry">the wasteland provides<n id="4" /> food for themp> <p class="poetry">and for their children.p>

<p class="poetry">The one who lacks wisdom<n id="1" /> strikes hands in pledge,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and puts up financial security<n id="3" /> for his neighbor.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">They howl in the streets because of what happened to the wine;<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">all joy turns to sorrow;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">celebrations disappear from the earth.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">They did not ask:p> <p class="poetry">&#8216;Where is the <sc>Lordsc> who delivered us out of Egypt,p> <p class="poetry">who brought us through the wilderness,p> <p class="poetry">through a land of desert sands and rift valleys,p> <p class="poetry">through a land of drought and deep darkness,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">through a land in which no one travels,p> <p class="poetry">and where no one lives?&#8217;<n id="2" />p>